Aircraft utilize a variety of lights to attract the attention of other aircraft operating in the same airspace, in order to prevent collisions between aircraft. One such lighting system is the anti-collision lighting system. An anti-collision lighting system may include flashing lights installed at several points on the aircraft to ensure that the lighted aircraft is visible to other aircraft operating in the vicinity. Anti-collision lights are typically mounted on the aircraft's upper and lower fuselage, the tail, and the wingtips, for example.
Anti-collision lights have previously been installed on aircraft for this purpose, but they suffer from several disadvantages. Prior anti-collision lights use “strobe” lights owing to the strobe's brilliant, sharp flash and high light output. In a strobe lighting system, aircraft electrical power is converted to a high-voltage direct current (DC) potential. The high-voltage DC is applied to a xenon gas lamp, which is “triggered” to arc between its anode and cathode terminals by a second voltage which is applied to the lamp's grid terminal. These prior strobe lights suffer from a relatively short service life due to degradation of the strobe's electronic components as a result of the continuous high-voltage charge and discharge cycles associated with each flash of the lamp. This is particularly true when the aircraft is operated in damp environments and at high altitudes.
Light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) are presently being adopted for various aircraft lighting systems. Some of the benefits of LEDs include longer life, lower power, lighter module packages, etc. However, many LED systems are not designed to fit into existing aircraft light module housings, thereby making replacement of xenon, incandescent, or halogen lamps with LEDs an expensive and time-consuming process.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved lighting optic for use in aircraft anti-collision lighting systems. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.